1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for data processing. Specifically, the method involves creation of user-input data in a graphical user interface in a computer system.
2. Description of Related Art
Graphical user interfaces, or “GUI's” as they are often designated, are an increasingly common and popular feature of computers, especially personal computers (PC's). One of the many advantages of such GUI's is that they allow a user to enter commands by selecting and manipulating graphical display elements, such as icons, through a variety of input devices. GUI's significantly reduce the amount of information that a user must recall in order to use a computer effectively. As a result of the ever-increasing popularity of GUI's, a variety of different means for using and navigating through various applications have been developed.
Various methods currently exist for allowing a user to control aspects of pointing device operation. For example, the Microsoft Windows interface enables a user to access a mouse dialog box whereby the user can adjust the tracking speed, which refers to the speed at which the mouse pointer moves across the display, and double-click speed, which refers to the rate at which Windows recognizes double-clicks of a mouse button. One feature of the mouse that is not controllable using the Windows GUI is an adaptive responsiveness of the pointer displayed on a display device to mouse movement. Such a feature would be especially beneficial in cases where the user is a small child or an older person, neither of whom typically have the manual dexterity necessary to control a mouse or other pointing device accurately, and hence, the position of the pointer on the display. There are also a set of disabilities that make the regular operation of a pointing device difficult and possibly impossible, such as trembling hands/fingers. As our population grows older and becomes increasingly dependent on computers, this will become more of an issue.
The problems associated with using pointing devices can be broadened by recognizing that similar problems may be associated with input devices in general. For example, if a person generally speaks with a stutter, the input voice patterns may be poorly recognized for that person by a voice recognition system. In another case, the person's stutter may make voice annotations impractical.
In these cases, a person may be unable to effectively use certain aspects of the computer system without extensive efforts to customize the computer system so that it is adapted to the personal characteristics of the user.